I can report that Savannah Country Day (@savcds) head baseball coach Nate Ward has resigned from his positions at the school this week.
— Travis Jaudon (@JaudonSports) July 26, 2024
The Hornets made the @OfficialGHSA state playoffs in 5 straight seasons under Ward.@SCDS_Athletics @TheCoachesBoxGA @GACACoaches
“I'm going to go work for a concrete company out of Savannah and I'll be running some of their operations over there,” he explained. “It’s giving me a couple of things. One is that yes, it is giving me more money so that I can better provide for my family, and also a little bit more time with my family. So those are the two big things that kind of made that decision for me.”
“The company, what they thought of me, I think it led to a very quick decision as far as on my end, talking it over with my wife over the weekend and then going into Monday [July 22] and talking to the school to let them know kind of where I was. I went to the Head of School [Kef Wilson] and Athletics Director [James Franklin] first and told them where I was, and there were some talks or some conversations but, at the end of the day, it just kind of fell into the spot where I am now. After that, it was just contacting the parents and the kids and letting them know kind of where I was at and the situation at hand.”
Ward took over the program at Country Day after serving as the assistant coach under Dan Garofano. From the time it started in 1990, the program had not made the state baseball playoffs until Garofano’s first team did so in 2008. He led them there again in 2018 and 2019. Then, Ward picked up right where Garofano left off. His teams were a two-seed in the state playoffs in three of his five seasons and SCDS hasn't missed the playoffs since 2017. The program also got big monetary donations to support facility upgrades. Ward estimated $1.8 million had been put into the program over his tenure, citing The Battery Indoor Hitting Facility and T. Brown Baseball Field remodel that was unveiled for the 2024 season.
While it’s still unclear who will replace Ward, what is evident is that the athletics program at Country Day in 2024-25 will look dramatically different than it did last year, especially so in the coaching and leadership department.
Franklin replaced Kenny Conroy as the Athletics Director on July 1, but Conroy elected to stay on as the girls basketball coach. Still, the proverbial “big three” sports programs at SCDS each will have new head coaches in 2024-25: Football (John Mohring in 2023-24, Roc Batten in 2024-25); Boys Basketball (Mac Tamminen, Sean Sweeney); and Baseball.
Ward believes the baseball team, and the SCDS athletics program as a whole, are in good hands.Savannah Country Day (@savcds) has three finalists selected for its recently opened Athletics Director job after departure of Kenny Conroy.
— Travis Jaudon (@JaudonSports) March 7, 2024
Today, another @SCDS_Athletics coaching vacancy opens. FB coach John Mohring (@CoachMohring) accepted a @WayneCo_FB offer to be the HC. pic.twitter.com/ayAnk1AxP3
“There has always been good support there from everybody and really a lot of understanding from the school in my situation. They understood exactly where I was coming from, and [Franklin], he's going to do really well over there. He and I had a very good conversation, and it was nothing but love and support from him and [Wilson]. I really appreciate the fact that we had those relationships, so no bad blood and hopefully no bridges burned; definitely none on my end. Hopefully the school feels the same way. I think that they do.”
SCCPSS FOOTBALL MEDIA DAY HIGHLIGHTS
The annual Savannah Chatham County Public School System (SCCPSS) Football Media Day was held on Saturday morning, July 27, at Beach High School. Each of the eight Savannah public schools were represented by coaches and select players on the stage to preview their 2024 Georgia High School Association (GHSA) seasons, which begin over the weekend of August 15-17.